Not too long ago I told you about James, aka Jumzz, a nice boy from England who happens to be gorgeous. Most of the photos of himself that James posts on his Tumblr blog are self-portraits and webcam pics, but last week he had some professional pictures taken, which he has been sharing lately. Isn't he beautiful? That's a rhetorical question, of course, because the answer is obvious, and I will allow no dissent.
I'm always looking for someone new to fall in love with, and I many have found him in Jacob Young, a has-it-all 18-year-old model from Devon, England. He's my definition of swoon-worthy, and his cheeky attitude seals the deal. Actually, the thing that seals the deal is the little birthmark underneath his right nipple. It's the imperfection that makes him perfect.
It has not escaped my attention, I don't know if it has escaped yours, that my future ex-husband Alex Pettyfer, has been all over the internets this week with some paparazzi photos taken on the location of his film Magic Mike. Why all the attention? Because he's wearing boxer briefs and an unzipped hoody. And his body is looking sick. That's good sick, not bad sick.
Despite all the skin on display (and mythical deity knows that I love seeing Alex's skin) it's this picture of fully dressed Alex that makes me go all googly-eyed. The look on his face actually is making me ovulate. And that's no easy task.
Barbra Streisand has a new album out called What Matters Most: Barbra Streisand Sings The Lyrics Of Alan & Marilyn Bergman, and it's just lovely. I've loved Barbra Streisand's voice for as long as I can remember, but I'm not always so in love with the material she chooses. This, though, is just wonderful. This woman, love her or hate her, has been a major star for fifty years, and there is a reason for that. Nobody, repeat, nobody, can match her for phrasing and interpretation, and that doesn't even take into account the exquisite quality of her vocals. She's 69 years old, and although her top notes are not quite what they used to be, her vocals have barely diminished since the 1960s. This may not be your cup of tea, I understand, but do yourself a favor and listen to her recording of I'll Never Say Goodbye, one of the most romantic songs ever written. At the risk of being cliché, I'm just going to say it: Like butter!
I can live with the fact that most of my readers don't share my enthusiasm for Mario Maurer, but that's not going to stop me from posting him. Especially when he does the world a favor by posing for an aggressively homoerotic photoshoot for Attitude Thailand. And most especially when the good people at Attitude Thailand post video of the shoot. Hot damn!
There are more very worthwhile pictures after the jump.
How did he take this self-portrait without taking the lens cap off his camera?
The fellow in the photo above is Alex Stoddard, a young photographer who, when he's not doing things like attending high school, takes some of the most beautiful, dramatic, and highly imaginative photos I've seen from a person his age. He has a Tumblr blog (the photos at Tumblr are not necessarily all his, although many of them are) and a Flickr photostream, both of which I highly recommend. It doesn't hurt at all that more often than not he is his own model, and he's quite an attractive young man. The pictures here do not even begin to demonstrate his talent, but I'm not going to show you a bunch of his photos, because I really want you to check them out for yourself. I don't know Alex, and I've never communicated with him, but I'm sure he would appreciate your feedback. Perhaps you'd even like to buy one of his prints. Consider it an investment. I have a feeling that he'd going to be big-time in the not-too-distant future.
To get your weekend started, here are a few music videos I've been enjoying lately, for one reason or another.
I'm going to have to start with One Direction who will be topping the U.K. pop charts for the very first time with their ultra-bubblegummy song, What Makes You Beautiful. The song is catchy enough, not blow-your-mind great, but what did you expect? It is not a particularly interesting video either, except for the fact that every one of the 1D boys is imminently do-able. Especially Harry.
After a very painful gestation period, the musical Spiderman, Turn Off The Dark, not only opened on Broadway, but seems to be a hit. It's a bit old school to release a single from a musical, and this never really had any chance to chart, but Reeve Carney's recording of Rise Above 1, featuring Bono and The Edge from U2 (they wrote it) has been available on iTunes since May. The song sounds a lot like it should be a U2 hit from the 80s, and Reeve seems to be vocally channeling Bono. Bono was never as cute as Reeve, though.
The fact that Frankmusik (whose first album, Complete Me, is brilliant from start to finish) has yet to make a commercial breakthrough, is almost inconceivable to me. Complete Me is very Europop in it's sensibilities. His upcoming album was recorded in Los Angeles, and the first single from it, Do It In The A.M., which attempted a more urban vibe, seemed to be geared more toward a U.S. audience than his previous work. It was an OK track, but not on par with anything from his first album. His newest single, No I.D., is a duet with an American girl singer named Colette Carr. It is just about the catchiest, frothiest, giddiest pop single imaginable and I cannot get it out of my head. As you'll see, the video pays homage to Grease, and Vincent Frank looks freakin' fantastic in 1950s drag.
Finally, this is not new at all, it's more than a year old, but I just love this clip of beautiful Alex Gardner, and his band, sitting in a greenroom backstage at a gig and doing a live, acoustic performance of the Take That song Shine. Alex has been in America lately, recording new songs, and I can't wait to hear them.
So, here's why I won't be using Blogger's sad, new mobile app. 1) Hideous looking interface. 2) For some reason it's designed for iPhone but not optimized for iPad. Why? 2) Can't choose your own font. 3) Can't choose the size of your text. 4) Can't justify your text. 5) No spell check. 6) Can't put pictures where you want to put them. 7) Can't make pictures clickable, so you can look at them in a larger size. 8) No italics, no bold face, no underlining, no hyperlinks. No way I will ever use this app.
OK, I know this is a boring post, so here are a few more pretties to look at.
Blogger has, at long last, introduced an iPhone app, and right now I am on a bus, trying it out on my iPad. I must say, so far I am very unimpressed. It seems that my dream of full-featured mobile blogging will remain unfullfilled for now.
As you may know, these days there are a ton of attractive young men working in the realm of children's television, but in my opinion, none are handsomer than Ryan Potter, the star of Nickelodeon's comedy/adventure show Supah Ninjas! Ryan is crazy amounts of awesome on the show. Utterly adorable. Today is Ryan's sixteenth birthday. Happy birthday Ryan!
I had planned on putting up a Sunday Roundup much earlier in the day, but with one thing or another I ended up putting it off until now. A Sunday Roundup takes a lot longer to make than most of my posts, but it was taking such a long time today because so many other things were capturing my attention. I swear, I don't know how anyone can say with a straight face that they are bored. There's so much stuff to do, and not nearly enough time to do it all.
I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and remember the innocent people who died that day.
I'd also like to mention the passing of actor Andy Whitfield, the star of Spartacus: Blood and Sand, who has succumbed to cancer at the age of 39.
I have always believed that everything you need to know in life can be found in the lyrics of showtunes, so here, from Rent, is the lesson I'd like you all to take with you today:
There's Only Us
There's Only This
Forget Regret, Or Life Is Yours To Miss
No Other Road
No Other Way
No Day But Today
I first laid eyes on this lovely face at one of Jay McFly's blogs. His name is Marcus Hauge, he was born in Norway, but lives in Texas, he is represented by Major Models, and he just started his senior year in high school. Now, this is just my opinion, but his combination of angel-face and build-like-a-brick-shithouse seems like a sure thing. My prediction: watch for this face at a Hollister store near you.
, and it's just lovely. I've loved Barbra Streisand's voice for as long as I can remember, but I'm not always so in love with the material she chooses. This, though, is just wonderful. This woman, love her or hate her, has been a major star for fifty years, and there is a reason for that. Nobody, repeat, nobody, can match her for phrasing and interpretation, and that doesn't even take into account the exquisite quality of her vocals. She's 69 years old, and although her top notes are not quite what they used to be, her vocals have barely diminished since the 1960s. This may not be your cup of tea, I understand, but do yourself a favor and listen to her recording of I'll Never Say Goodbye, one of the most romantic songs ever written. At the risk of being cliché, I'm just going to say it: Like butter!
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